@magicplanetanime
Thinking about attitudes to cops in the US vs Japan, the student protests in the late 60's may have had an influence. In both, police brutally suppressed demonstrations and riots.
US protests were about the Vietnam war, and eventually they "won".
In Japan, the protests were sparked by unpaid internships at medical schools, and expanded to Marxist / anti-corporate issues. And they "lost" big time.
I bet that echoes through the years, coupled with a stronger preference for social order.
(Though in the US, Regan's reaction to protests created the whole student loan scam we have now.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968%E2%80%931969_Japanese_university_protests
@pkemner Yes, I think the failure of the Student Movement and its influence on the direction of Japanese popular art (including anime) after that point is fairly uncontroversial. I'm not entirely sure, though, since I'm not an expert on the subject.
It may be less a "preference" for stronger social order and more a development of a norm - but I admit that's splitting hairs.
Sorry for taking so long to respond! I've been out of sorts for a while.